Confessions of a Brokenhearted Liar
by CuriosityKilledTheSquirrel
Summary: DxS My heart was officially broken.Their lips were captured in a heated kiss. His hands on her waist, Her hand running through his hair... it made it hard for me to breath, to keep my heart beating, to stand.
1. Chapter 1

Okay, this is my first DP fanfic, so go easy on me. The idea just slipped into my head while watching the first episode with 'ghost hunter Valerie'. This is also my first fanfic in first person, so forgive me if it's not that great. I'm a big supporter of DxS, so worry not about the first few chappies.

XD

My heart was officially broken.

Their lips were captured in a heated kiss. His hands on her waist, Her hand running through his hair; it made it hard for me to breath, to keep my heart beating, to stand. Tucker was standing next to me, shockingly nonchalant. I was suddenly hit with distant memories: how our hands fit perfectly, sleeping next to him in my bed, _my_ hands in his hair. I kept waiting for him to push her away, but he didn't. They broke for a moment, for air, but connected back to each other like magnets.

The next thing I knew, my knees were buckling under me. "Sam!" Tucker cried out and caught my elbows before I hit the pavement. Danny snapped out of his kiss and spun around to face me. I steadied my self and looked at him. Tucker let go of me gingerly. "You okay? That could've been nasty."

"Yeah." I murmured, still locking gazes with Danny. His blue eyes bore into me and seemed to read my every thought, while I couldn't make out one of the emotions flashing across his face. "I'm fine." _Liar._ Valerie stood there awkwardly, her eyes staring at the ground. Danny was so silent it scared me. I didn't know what he was thinking. Was it pity? Guilt? Did he hate me? I felt something on my arm. It was Tucker handing me my books.

I hadn't realized I'd dropped them. Pink sprayed across the bridge of my nose as I took them from his waiting hands. "Sam, I-"

"Danny, it's fine." I interrupted, holding my hands in defense. _Liar._ I smiled. It hurt. "I just thought I had seen something else." He nodded, but I could tell he doubted it. I turned to her. "Hey, Valerie." She looked up at me, her face coloured her own shade of red. There was an awkward silence among us before Valerie tugged on the sleeve of Danny's shirt.

He nodded. "I'll talk to you guys later." He waved and led Valerie out of the parking lot. Tucker waved back and continued into Nasty Burger. I followed after him, my feet shuffling the ground softly. I slid into the booth Tucker had picked out and pulled my black jacked closer to me. The waitress came and went with our orders, words unspoken between Tucker and me.

A question suddenly popped into my head, but I didn't know how to ask it without giving away how I felt. My mouth began to form words, but nothing came from it. Finally I said, "What do guys find so appealing about stuck up preps?" Tucker looked up from his PDA.

"Nothing you'd want to hear." He said with a small grin. I looked down at my chest then back up with a scowl.

"Very funny, Tucker Foley. But there has to be something more to that." I protested. He shrugged with a mumble. "What?" I pressed.

"You want it straight?" he said firmly. I nodded, forcing my eyes to glaze over with curiosity. "Guys like things they know they can't have." I motioned my hands, urging him to continue. "We like gentle yet confidant, strong yet needing, a balance if you will." I nodded, not quite grasping it, but absorbing every word.

"You know, _you're _the one who broke up with _him._" Tucker pointed out. My head shot up.

"Tucker, I- I just-"

"Still like him." He finished for me. I looked at the chocolate shake the waitress had brought me and placed the straw between my lips, leaving a bit of purple lipstick on the white plastic.

"Maybe."

XD

Well, that's all I'll do for now. Most of the chappies will probably be this short because when they get too long, I lose interest. The next chappie will be posted in the next week or so.


	2. Chapter 2

Awws! You peoples are so nice to me. I had some questions in my reviews so I'm gonna use this chappie as kind of a info chappie. LOL (Lots of love) Oh! And I don't own Danny Phantom or its characters.

XD

My keys made their 'tinkly' noise when I dropped them in the glass bowl by the front door. I sighed and looked through my house, noticing no one was home. A slight parching in my throat caused me to walk into the kitchen and pull a water bottle from the refrigerator. As I closed the door and looked up, I noticed a sheet of paper with my mother's neat hand-writing scribbled over it: _Samantha, You know those pictures you asked me to develop when I went to the grocery store? Well, they're on the table. Love always- Mother._

"What pictures?" I muttered to my imaginary mother. A small red package sat on the table, waiting my hands to tear them open. I quickly grabbed them and used one of my nails to rip the glued paper open. I pulled the stack of pictures out, careful not to smudge the glossy images with my finger prints. I shuffled through a few of them before I grew angry with realization. "I asked her to develop these six months ago!" I said curtly.

The pictures were of my poetry reading back in December. In most of them, Danny was behind the camera, because Tucker was sitting on the right side of the photo and I was in the center, on the stage. In one particular picture, it showed me sitting on a high stool, my legs crossed, my hair falling to the side of my eyes, and a smile gracing my lips. I placed the picture to the side, and suddenly, all the pictures changed. They were of me and Danny: Danny and I playing Monopoly with Tucker, Danny and I watching TV together, Danny and I asleep on his couch. I smiled softly.

Tucker must have taken that picture before he picked us up. That was the morning after our first time and we were exhausted. I looked up from the pictures and walked upstairs to my bedroom. I fell on the bed and held the picture above my head. Danny was lying against the pillows of the couch, his hand resting on my lower stomach. I remember falling asleep to his gentle hands caressing it. I was leaning back against him, my head sitting under his chin and my hand on his shoulder.

I felt tears pricking my eyes and placed the picture to the side. A piece of my heart fell from my eyes and rolled down my temples before landing in my black hair, which was fanned around my face. I sat up and looked in the mirror across my room. My own amethyst eyes stared back at me. My hair laid flat by my ears, my bangs pulled up into a small ponytail. My pale skin made my pink nose and eyes stand out like they were blood red. I stood quietly and turned on my radio so that a sad song blasted through the entire house. I slowly ran my hands through my hair. It had been down to my shoulders when I was fourteen, but now as an eleventh grader, it was down to the middle of my back. Without thinking, I wrapped my fingers around a pair of scissors that sat on top of my sewing kit. (That my mother bought me and insisted I keep in my room) I pulled my bangs out of their place and let them fall to the sides of my face.

I gathered my hair into a large ponytail and closed my eyes. My hand rose so I could feel the open blades of the scissors cornering my hair. I took a deep breath and closed the scissors. Half of my hair felt loose in my hand. With a second swipe, I cut the rest and let my hands fall to my sides. Though a bit uneven, my hair was back at my shoulders. I threw my hair in the waste bin by my side, a few strands sticking to my sweaty palms.

I looked back at my reflection. I don't know why I did it. Maybe I thought if we were just friends, we couldn't break up and hate each other, or maybe I was scared that he would break up with me first and I'd look like a love-sick idiot.

I used the back of my hand to wipe off the lipstick that coated my lips and the eye shadow on my eyelids. I walked slowly to my mother's bedroom and rummaged through her make-up bag. My hands found a tube of pink lip gloss and a compact with peach eye shadow. With shaky hands, I twisted the gloss open and ran the wand over my lips, doing the eye shadow in the same fashion. I looked at my self in the mirror for a moment, singing along to the radio softly and fixing my hair so it flipped out slightly at the ends. After a moment, I left and ran to my room.

I pulled out one of the clothes containers under my bed labeled 'DO NOT OPEN'. I let a small laugh escape my glossed lips. Against every being of my body, I pulled the lid off and pulled the clothes I swore I'd never wear out—a pair of ripped jeans and a light pink shirt. I stared at them for a moment.

_Gentle yet confidant, strong yet needing, a balance if you will_

I pulled the skirt I was wearing off and pulled the jeans over my legs. I followed the same suit with the shirt. I turned to look at myself in the mirror once more and frowned. "Too much at once." I mumbled and pulled the shirt off, replacing it with a red one. I sighed. "If this is what he wants… so be it."

XD

Yeah, she's taking drastic measures and you're all screaming at me: SHE'S SO OOC! Fear not my readers, I'm a professional… or I at least know what I'm doing. Review please!


	3. Chapter 3

You peoples are so nice! I'm glad so many of you can relate to this story. It makes me feel like I'm right about this stuff. (I've never been in this situation) So anyway, pray for my dad. He just got really sick. Now, ON with the story!

XD

They were all staring at me. I could feel their hot gazes boring into me. I simply kept my eyes on my book and filtered in important facts Tucker was feeding me. It was like someone had taken a volume button to their whispers and then played them through a megaphone. I didn't care about them. It was Danny I wanted to see, but he nor Valerie had shown up for lunch.

I was surprised at how well Tucker took my new look. He didn't say anything when he saw me. He just looked me over a couple of times, nodded, and started to talk about some ghost he and Danny caught.

Tucker suddenly nudged my shoulder. I looked up at him curiously. "All right, I'm going to pretend to knock your book off the table. When you bend down to pick it up, look behind you." He said. I gave him a strange look but nodded my approval. He smiled and continued to talk for a moment. He kept checking something over my shoulder, but when the moment came, he used his hands to make some dramatic gesture, knocking my book to the grass.

As Tucker had instructed, I bent down to pick it up. As my book brushed the cover, I looked over my shoulder. My breath caught in my lungs as I locked gazes with Danny, who was listening to Valerie gab on a few tables back. (Most likely about me) He turned away hastily and I quickly sat up, placing my book on the table and my breath coming in soft, short laughs. "Somebody can't take their eyes off you." Tucker teased with a big smile. I felt a soft tap on my shoulder. I turned around, expecting to see Danny, but another boy was standing there instead. He had dirty blond hair, brown eyes, and a parade of freckles sprayed across his cheeks.

"MichaelcoughStrong." Tucker coughed behind me. I looked up at the boy and smiled a dazzling smile.

"Hey, Michael! What's up?" I flirted. He turned a light pink and placed a hand behind his head.

"H-Hey Sam. Um, I was wondering if- if you'd like to go to the prom with me." He stammered

"Well I-"I began, but was cut off by another male voice.

"No way! I was gonna ask her." Another boy stood up at a nearby table. He had red hair and a dark blue back-pack slung over his shoulder. I turned a bright red as a swarm of other boys came over to the table, insisting that I go to the prom with them.

"I'm sorry, guys, but I promised Tucker I would go with him." I shrugged apologetically. I could see Danny staring at me through the crowd of boys. The boys groaned and walked back to their appropriate tables. I looked at Tucker. "Will you go to the prom with me?" I asked with a sheepish grin.

"As a friend, but as a friend, I say you get one of them to go to the prom with you." He answered after consideration. "Danny'll know that we're going as just friends. You have to make him think you've moved on and can get anyone you want."

"But I just told everyone I was going with you." I protested.

"And that's perfect." He assured me. "Now you can have time to pick which suitor you want and tell them I might not be able to make it. Then you sweep them off their feet with a perfect smile, make Danny jealous, and show Valerie who's who."

"And then she'll come crawling to you?"

"Exactly."

XD

I thought I'd end this on a light hearted note. The updates aren't always going to come this fast, I just have had a lot of inspiration lately and this story is honestly the only one I'm enjoying right now. Okay? NOW REVIEW! I luvs it!


	4. Chapter 4

I feel better about updating now. I just updated my other story yesterday, so I won't have as much guilt as I've had with the last three chappies. Anyways, I am so glad you guys are liking this story. This was just going to be an escape from a story that I'm not enjoying writing, so it's really nice to know I have so much support. Well, I don't own Danny Phantom…. No witty banter today.

XD

I flipped through our junior yearbook while I sprawled out on my bed. I highlighted Tucker's recommendations with yellow highlighter and the ones he hated in pink. Once I was done highlighting, I examined my choices. None of them seemed right.

Of the thirty-two, there were only four vegetarians, and they had some horrible characteristics and reputations. Too tall, too short, too cocky, too shy; It felt like they were all wrong. _Well duh!_ I thought to myself. _ You didn't change for _them. I sighed and picked my cell phone off the bedside table and speed-dialed Tucker. He picked up with a cheery, "What's up Sam?"

"Tucker…" I whined. "There's too many of them."

"What? Boys?"

I nodded. "Yeah, can you narrow it down for me?"

"TUCKER!" I could hear Danny's voice in the background. They were probably catching a ghost. It seemed they never called me for that anymore.

"Michael Strong and Jeremy Susou. Gotta go! Bye!"

"Wait, Tucker! Can I come help?"

"Downtown pier. _Hurry_!" I hung up and changed out of my kitten heels before running downtown.

The pier was in terrible shape. Broken boxes were strewn across the ground, a tall pole had been knocked over and was pinning Tucker to the ground, and Danny was fighting air. Huh? "Sam!" Tucker shouted. I ran over to him and struggled to pull the pole off, but it was way too heavy. "Sam, the ghost is invisible. Danny can't see her and it's making it complicated." He pointed to a Fenton Thermos that was out of his reach. I dove to reach it. "You can't let her see you, Sam." Tucker continued. "She'd kill you in a minute. She hates women. She thinks they'll question her 'beauty'" _sounds like Paulina. _

I nodded. "No problem. I just have to be able to get her in direct line of the Fenton Thermos." I looked up where Danny Phantom was throwing ectoplasmic blasts that continued to miss whatever target they were aiming for. "Dang it!" I muttered to myself. "How can I catch something I can't see?" I thought for a minute. "Well duh!"

I seem to be saying that a lot lately…

"Hey, Ugly!" I shouted, my hands cupped around my mouth.

Danny and Tucker looked towards me. "Sam?"

"Sam! What did I say?" Tucker scolded me. There was an awkward pause before I felt a strong hand wrapped around me and raising me off the ground. My air supply was being cut off. I couldn't breath. Danny flew over to me.

"Sam, where's the Fenton Thermos?" I tried to respond, but I couldn't. The handle of the thermos was digging into my side, where a large bruise would form later. I tried to pull my arm up, but the thermos' edges cut into my skin. It felt like a fire was burning in my chest and I heard several sickening pops which I knew were my ribs. I pulled on the thermos once more, wincing as it tore at my skin.

Danny began shooting at the invisible force around me, with no result. I couldn't focus on much but the pain as my arm started to pull out of the hand that held me, raising my shirt above my waist and revealing a deep gash.

Then I was done. My arm was free. I raised the thermos to my mouth and twisted the top off with my teeth. I tried to point at the ghost, but my vision was darkening at the edges and nothing was staying still. There was a flash of bright light and the grip on my torso was gone. I tried to move my body so I wouldn't hit the ground wrong, but I couldn't. I was numb. I could hear my name being shouted, but that was it.

Then….. nothing.

XD

Dun dun duuuun! I couldn't really think of anything to do for this chapter, so I just ran with the idea I was gonna use later on in the story. Oh well! I think it turned out nicely. Review!


	5. Chapter 5

Ello! I don't really have anything to say, so we'll just go ahead and read the chappie. Sigh… I don't own Danny Phantom.

XD

"_Why, Sam?" he asked. I looked away before his eyes could connect wit mine. He reached out a sad arm to touch me, but I stepped back._

_"It's just not there for me anymore, Danny" No lie was ever more false. I looked back up, immediately regretting it. Through my own blurry tears, I could see his, glazing over his sky-blue eyes. _

_"But Sam-"_

_"Danny, no! You're making this harder than I want it to be." At least that was true. I put my hands up as if to stop any of his words. "Now, You're an awesome guy and you're a great friend, but this relationship just isn't working for me anymore. I hope we can still be friends." _

_I began to walk out of his messy room, but he grabbed my hand. "Sam, wait." He spun me around so I would face him. "Just look me in the eyes, tell me you don't love me, and I'll never bring this up again." _

_I wouldn't be able to do it._

_"I don't have to prove anything to you, Danny."_

My eyes fluttered open. "Ah, Sleeping Beauty has awoken." I looked to my right, where a thin nurse was checking my IVs. "You gave us quite a fright, Miss Manson." She spoke again, turning to face me. Her face was small and sweet and her golden hair was in a ponytail that laid on her back.

I looked around my and nearly screamed when I saw Danny asleep on the other side of me. "What happened?" I asked. My voice was quiet and raspy.

"Mr. Fenton and your other little friend brought you over, saying you were attacked by a ghost." Instantly, all my pain came flooding back: emotional and physical. "Good thing of that or you might not have lasted long." She pointed to a folded letter on the bedside table. Your other friend told me to make sure you got that.

I reached for it, wincing at the pain that shot through my torso. The paper was folded into thirds with a small sticker placed on the edge. I ripped it open and unfolded the paper carefully.

**Sam,**

**You're an idiot. **

**Anyways, sorry. I tried to convince Danny to leave, but he didn't. You know my excuse.**

**-Tuck**

I sighed and placed it back on the small table. "What's wrong with me?" I said and tried to sit up, but as a reflex, grabbed my right side because of the painful throbbing.

"Well, you had a pretty big gash there. We fixed it up with some stitches. You also had three broken ribs on your right and one on your left." She pointed to each injury with a small pen that had been tucked behind her ear. "Two of them punctured your lung."

I was quiet for a moment. The room was decorated with flowers of assorted colours. There were some from my parents, Danny's parents, Jazz, and a few family friends. There was even a bonsai tree from Tucker. I let out a small laugh at the sight but then pressed my mouth shut. What if I woke up Danny? My eyes darted towards him, but he just let out a soft snore. I smiled and pushed a lock of his messy hair out of his face.

"That boy really loves you. We had to physically restrain him so we could get a good look at you." The nurse said with a smile. My own smile fell and I placed my hand back by my side.

"Nah, he's got a girlfriend." I said softly.

The nurse let a small laugh escape her mouth. "Oh well. Would you like some water?" she asked nicely. I nodded. She left the room, and (like a play) as soon as she left, my parents walked in.

"Oh Sammy! You're awake!" my mother squealed and ran to hug me.

"Mom, please! You're hurting me!" She let go and glared at Danny before pulling a shopping bag from behind her back.

"Sammy… guess what I got you." She said in a sing-songy voice. She began rummaging through the bag.

"Mom, please not another-" She pulled out a lavender shirt with a skull studded into the center. "Absolutely cool shirt?" I looked up at her questionably.

"Now don't get used to this kind of stuff." My father spoke up. "This is a one-time-only deal. I nodded and pulled the shirt from my mothers hands.

She leaned over and whispered something to my father that sounded a lot like, "At least it's not black." I began talking to them for a while, telling my story, explaining why Danny was there, and gushing about my new style. (mostly with my mom) Sometime later, I looked to my left where Danny was.

He was gone.

XD

Oh well. It isn't that good. Kinda a filler chappie. Eh. Review please!


	6. Chapter 6

…I'm disappointed in you people. Didn't I say in the first chappie that they'd be short? I have a vote I will conduct at the end of the chappie. But for now, here's chappie six. BTW, they didn't just break up. They separated a few months ago.

XD

_Just do it!_ I screamed mentally. The locker was cold behind my back and Michael was with his friends not too far away. I took a deep breath and moved my feet forward. It was like they were stuck in cement. With every step I took, Michael got closer and closer to me. Eventually, I was right in front of him and he was looking at me cautiously.

"Hey Michael, I was just wondering if you had a date to the prom yet." I suddenly received a jolt of confidence as I saw Danny and Valerie walk past me.

"No, I don't." he said. His friends began whispering softly and laughing to each other.

"Oh, well, Tucker said he might not be able to make it, and he didn't want me to go dateless, so he said I could go with someone else." I looked into his brown eyes flirtatiously. "Is your offer still available?"

His eyes lit up. "Yeah, of course it is." He said with a big smile. I pulled out a pen and took his hand, writing my cell number on his palm.

"Call me, and we'll talk about it later." I finished and winked before walking down the hall. In the distance, I could hear a victorious shout.

As I walked into the cafeteria, I could feel all eyes on me. I quickly got my tray and walked over to where Tucker was sitting. "Hey Tuck, you wanna try something different today?" I asked with a mischievous smile. He nodded slowly. I grabbed his arm and pulled him to the other side of the cafeteria.

"Sam, this side is for the popular kids." Tucker warned me.

I nodded. "So? I think it's safe to say that I'm popular now." I sat down at an empty table and pulled him into the seat in front of me. He looked nervous, but opened his paper-bag lunch. I smiled and looked to my salad.

"Dang it!" I exclaimed. "I forgot a fork. I'll be right back." I stood and turned to walk away, but was violently elbowed in my right side. I fell to the tiled floor with a painful cry. My teeth gritted in pain as I held on to my sore side tightly and sat up.

"Sam!" Danny ran over to my side from his table with Valerie. I looked up at my attacker. Paulina stood above me with a smug smile on her face.

Danny helped me stand up and stepped back. I understood. _Never_ get between two girls who are about to kill each other.

"What the hell, Paulina?" I screeched. She seemed to snarl at me.

"Don't think just because you can put on some nice clothes and change your make-up that you can sit wherever you want." She responded shortly with one hand on her hip.

I walked up to her so our faces were only a few inches apart. "I don't." A crowd began to form around us and chant 'Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!' "I think just because I can form a ten word sentence that I can sit wherever I want." Her jaw dropped a little and she looked at me in disgust.

"You have to deserve to sit at this side of the cafeteria, and you don't."

I looked her in the eye, ignoring Danny and Tucker's pleas for me to back off. "How would I deserve it?" I asked curtly. She looked me in the eyes as she thought for a moment.

"Look_, Loser,_" She said, enunciating the ridiculing name. "This side is reserved for jocks, cheerleaders and those who date them. So, unless you lie in one of those categories, I suggest you and your geek friend move."

For a moment I stayed silent. "Paulina, do you like gambling?" I asked after a while. She shrugged. "These are my terms: If I can make the squad, anybody can sit anywhere they want. If not, I will wear your choice of an outfit the next day." I reasoned as I stepped back. I crossed my arms over my chest.

"Any outfit?" she said warily.

"Any outfit." I held my hand out for her to shake. She took a napkin off of a table and wiped it off before she took it. The crowd dissolved with disappointed mutters as Paulina went back to her table and I sat back down.

"Sam." Tucker looked at me wide-eyed. "You understand what you just did, don't you?" I nodded slowly and pushed my salad away.

"I don't feel so well anymore." Danny looked at me as if he wanted to say something, but Valerie called him back over to his designated table. I groaned and put my head in my hands. "Tuck, I have to be a cheerleader." I whined.

Tucker patted my shoulder sympathetically. "At least it's for a good cause.

XD

Well guys, I won't be able to update for a week, because I have to go on a youth trip for a while. Until then, I will write in a notebook so I will be brimming with ideas when I get back. See you later!


	7. Chapter 7

I don't own Danny Phantom. I tallied up the votes from my survey, and most people don't care how long and frequent the chapters are. Other than that, it was a tie. (2 people for long, 2 for short.) This chappie is for Me The Anon One. You have nerves of steal. lol! I keep your messages close.

XD

I cried out in pain as my wrist popped during my handspring. I crumbled to the ground mid-way as my elbows unlocked. "You're going to kill yourself doing this." Tucker said as he handed me my water bottle. I rotated my wrist gently as a pain shot through it.

"I know, Tuck, but I have to do this. One, I can't let Paulina show me up; Two, people should be able to sit where they want to; Three, Danny probably won't be impressed with whatever outfit Paulina picks out for me." I took the water and held it above my mouth, squirting the refreshing liquid into my mouth.

"You have a point." He mumbled, deep in thought. I shook my head and stood up. I took a deep breath, swung my hands back and pushed off the ground. My legs flew over my head as I put my hands on the ground. As my feet hit the ground, my momentum made my hands spring up. I looked at Tucker, wide-eyed. "You-you just did a back handspring." He said in awe. A huge smile spread across my face.

I squealed with excitement, then immediately stopped. No matter what I'm wearing, I'm still a Goth, and Goths don't squeal happily. Oh my god. It's getting to my head. I slapped my palm to my forehead as if to smack away any trace of preppiness there.

"Do it again." Tucker said, still staring at me. I looked at him curiously before slapping my forehead again. "No! The handspring!" _duh!_ I happily obliged and repeated the steps I had just done. The handspring was sloppier than last time, but it was a handspring nonetheless. I crossed 'back handspring' off of my required list for try-outs. There were only a few things left, and I wouldn't be able to do them until next week.

"Tuck… I don't want to be a cheerleader." I said and looked toward my friend pitifully. He slapped a hand to his forehead.

"Well you're in a bit of a predicament." He said. I sighed and leaned against the wall of my house. I'm a total idiot. Tucker's cell phone began to ring in his pocket. He pulled it out and placed it to his ear. The entire conversation, I waved my hands in front of his face, asking who it was and what they wanted. After a while of talking, he hung up and put his phone in his pocket. "Go get a shower." He said and waved me away as he stood.

"What?" I looked up at him curiously.

"Go get a shower. Danny will be here in ten minutes with Valerie."

"What?" I jumped up and leaped into the house, running down the hall and into my bathroom. I could hear Tucker's hysterical laughter as I slammed the door closed and turned on the water. I quickly stripped of my clothes and pulled the curtain closed. I scrambled to wash my hair as hot water pelted my body. What seemed like seconds later, I stepped out, my hair soaked, body dripping, naked…

Dang it.

I looked to the towel rack. Of course the maid has to take a sick day on the same day my ex is coming to my house with his current girlfriend. I open the bathroom door just a crack. "Tucker!" No answer. "Tucker!"

"What?" he said from outside the door.

"I need a towel." I sounded pathetic. My hair was matted to my cheeks and jawbone, the only clothes I had were sweaty and smelly, and Danny would be here soon. Tucker sighed and disappeared for a moment before returning with a fluffy, white towel. He handed it to me through the crack of the door. He disappeared again as I adjusted the towel around me. I didn't mind Tucker seeing me in just a towel, he was like a brother.

I quietly sneaked out of the bathroom, my hands clutching my security blanket. I released a deep breath when I saw that no one was in the living room. I climbed the stairs and opened the door to my room. Everybody was sitting on my bed, talking.

I jumped.

The towel slipped and fell.

Crap.

"Tucker!" Danny, Tucker, Valerie, and I all turned a bright red as I scrambled to pull the fabric over my exposed body. Danny stood up and pulled Tucker and Valerie out by the wrist. I quickly closed the door, threw myself on the bed,

And cried.

XD

I applied my make-up slowly, too afraid to go downstairs and face them again. I just flashed two guys and a girl I hate immensely. My life was ruined. I sighed as I looked at my face in the mirror, searching for a way to stall, but no. My hair was dried and straightened, clothes on with every accessory, make-up applied. I had no reason not to go downstairs. I decided to take ten more minutes to curl my bangs, only to straighten them again and put them up with a rhinestone pin on the top of my head. _Now_ I had no choice but to go.

I took a deep breath, opened the door and walked into the living room. I pretended to fix my shirt as I walked to the center of the room. "We're never going to speak about that." I announced, breaking the eerie silence that lay across the room like a suffocating plastic grocery bag. The entire room mumbled their agreements before the plastic grocery bag swallowed the area again.

Suddenly, Tucker burst out laughing. I glared at him, but he was already falling off the couch and clutching his sides from his sudden outburst. Moments later, I heard Danny choking back a laugh. Seconds after that, Valerie was following suit. They both exploded into laughter, leaving me there to feel stupid.

"I'm sorry Sam!" Tucker choked out between guffaws. "That was just so funny!" I turned red again as the room filled with laughter. I felt tears stinging the corners of my eyes, but there wasn't enough to make them spill.

"So much for never talking about it." I muttered. "Guys!" It took forever for their laughter to die down. When it did, I stood there like a mother who was angry at her toddlers: hands on my hips, foot tapping, glaring at them. Their faces tilted towards the ground. I have to admit, _that _was funny.

After a few moments of quietness, Valerie spoke up. "Danny insists that you and Tucker come to the fair with us." I couldn't tell if it was annoyance or boredom in her voice, but it was one of them. I looked at Tucker and shrugged. He nodded and I turned back to Valerie.

"We'd love to. Thanks for inviting us." _My_ smile was fake, _Valerie's_ smile was fake, _Tucker's_ was mischievous, and _Danny's_ was faint and weak, but everyone was smiling. I picked my purse off of the ground by the couch and threw it over my shoulder. Valerie nodded and stood up, making sure to show off her and Danny's joined hands. Danny and Tucker stood up as well as I started towards the door. This was going to be interesting.

XD

The look on Valerie's face was hilarious. "I'm sorry ma'am. Only three to a seat." The man in charge of the ride said. He pulled the bar over Danny, Tucker, and I. We had decided on the Ferris wheel, and Valerie just happened to be the fourth person in our group. The man pushed Valerie back and closed the entrance to the ride off as it lurched to life. The wheel went around for a while before we stopped at the top. Our seat looked over the entire fair and was the perfect view of the setting sun. It sprayed the horizon with pinks and oranges before painting night onto the sky.

I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding as the wheel lowered us to the ground. The man helped us out and we returned to a furious Valerie. We walked around, looking at the lights, playing the games, and talking. We eventually came to a crossroads. Danny and I wanted to go on one ride, but Valerie and Tucker wanted to go on another. We split up and walked to our respectable rides: Tucker and Valerie to a spaceship thing and Danny and I to a ride that that spun in every direction possible.

Danny helped me into my seat and sat into his in silence. It was extremely awkward. The ride started and people's screams filled the air. I gasped as the seats began to spin upside down. I thanked God for my seatbelt at the moment and I'm sure Danny did too. The ride began to go crazy, sending people spinning everywhere. I think I even screamed a little. I don't remember.

After a while, it slowed down to an eventual stop. My surroundings were spinning around me as I climbed out of my seat. I grabbed onto Danny's arm for support, but fell anyways, bringing Danny down to the hard floor with me. I blushed at the position we were in. He was on top of me, his legs straddled over mine. The next thing I knew, his lips were covering mine.

I fell into a sense of vulnerability. My lips were connected to his. That was it. We finally broke apart when we heard encouraging shouts from other people who had been on the ride. We stared at each other for a moment before he stood and helped me up. I walked off the platform, Danny close behind me and rushed towards Tucker and Valerie's ride, but suddenly, Danny tugged me to an area behind a booth that was shadowed in darkness.

He pulled me close to him and covered my lips with his, immediately working my mouth open. I had forgotten how sweet he tasted, like honey. I wrapped an arm around him, lacing my fingers in his hair. Soft moans escaped us as we indulged in familiar kisses, breaking only for air. He slipped a hand under my shirt and traced my waist up to my chest. I broke away. "We can't do this, Danny." My breaths were labored, but my sentence came out confident and clear.

His face fell. "Why not?" I rolled my eyes and motioned towards the ride nearby.

"We're not together anymore. You're with Valerie." I stepped back, my body still shaking from the passion of our kiss. It held such infatuation and longing. "I'm over you, Danny. Stop trying to make me come back." All of the sudden, words were flying out of my mouth, like my mind had no filter. Everything was a lie, but I couldn't take it back now without murdering my pride.

"But, Sam…" he gazed at me with such pain, it hurt me myself. I shook my head and walked away, knowing I was walking away from everything I had changed for, and it hurt so badly. I felt as if I was about to break into a million pieces, like my heart already had. I felt him walking behind me moments later as I approached the ride, where Tucker and Valerie were waiting.

"Oh, Danny! I missed you!" Valerie jumped on Danny and threw her arms around him. It broke my heart knowing those were my own arms not five minutes ago.

"Val is it okay if we go home?" he looked down at her and asked. She nodded. _Thank God._ I almost wanted to kiss Valerie's feet. Any longer, I would have broken down into tears.

XD

I fell to my knees as soon as Danny's car was out of sight. "Hey! What the…?" Tucker kneeled by my side and offered a shoulder for me to cry on.

"I kissed him, Tucky." I said, using the name I hadn't used since kindergarten. "He kissed me and I kissed him back."

"Oh, Sam." He hugged me. "What happened after that?" It took me a moment to answer, because I couldn't stop crying.

"I told him I was over him, and I didn't want to be with him again." He looked at me like a sympathetic older brother would. "I ruined everything!"

"No. You just made it better." He comforted me. "Is he over you?" I shook my head uncertainly. "Then don't feel bad! If he's still crazy about you, our plan is working perfectly." I cried into his shoulder for a while before I was overcome with a wave of exhaustion.

"Why don't- why don't you go home, Tuck? My parents'll be home soon and they might get mad at you for being here this late." He nodded and helped me up before closing the door behind him. I dragged myself up to my room, stripped of my clothes, crawled into bed, and cried some more.

I couldn't be certain, but I could have sworn I felt a certain halfa watching me the whole time.

XD

How'd you guys like my new longer chappie? This was a bit of a sad chappie and before you all ask, no, Danny didn't hear Tucker and Sam talking about "THE plan". Hopefully most of my chappies will be this long from now on. I hope you guys enjoy them. God bless, curiosity.


	8. Chapter 8

Yay! You peoples are so kind! I thought I would add this in here for a little relief of all the angsty angry stuff. Unfortunately I don't own Danny Phantom. Boo! Oh well. Enjoy the chappie!

XD

"No, Tucker." I said firmly. "I will cut my hair, I will wear prep clothes, but I will not- _will not _do that." I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at him. He let out a frustrated sigh and shook his head.

"Sam, it's the only way." I looked at me sadly. I stuck out my bottom lip and made my eyes shine. "Sam, you know that face only works on Danny… and Kwan, but he doesn't matter." I shook my head and moved my hands to my hips, signifying my defiance. "Do you want _me _to do it?" he threatened.

"No!" I stood from my place on the living room couch. Tucker pointed to the kitchen, where my mother was humming while she watered her hibiscuses. I sighed with frustration as I walked up to her.

"Mother?" she turned around and looked at me.

"Yes, Sammykins?" I flinched at the pet name.

"Tucker and I are going dress shopping for prom. Would you…like to go?" My teeth clenched over the last few words and images of hurting Tucker with the watering can my mother held filled my mind. She gasped a bit overdramatically and her eyes widened. My mother enveloped me in a tight hug and shook me back and forth with excitement.

"Of course! I'd love to go!" She finally released me. "I've got to go get my purse and- and your strapless bra-"

"Mother!" My eyes widened. "Tucker's still here!" I motioned towards the living room, where Tucker had a teasing grin on his face.

"Oh, he doesn't care. Be right back!" She rushed out of the kitchen and up the stairs, her heels clicking against the wood. I blushed and walked back into the living room. Suddenly, my mother called from upstairs, "Sammy, do you want me to grab your thong too?" I turned bright red and Tucker began snickering.

"Mother! Stop!" Moments later, she came running down the stairs, waving my undergarments in the air. She was more excited than a kid on Christmas.

"Sammy, I got the silk one because I know the lace one gives you a-"

"Thank you, Mother." I interrupted, snatching the garments from her hand and stuffing them in my purse. "Thank you very much. Can we go now?" She nodded and shoved a magazine in my hands.

"Look for stuff you like." She said and motioned me and Tucker out of the house. As we climbed into Tucker's silver Mercury, I flipped through the pages of the magazine my mother gave me. There was every colour and style I could imagine. For every pink, poofy, flowery, princessy one, my mother had taped a picture of my face where the model's head would be. The ones that particularly drew my eye were black or blue, but Tucker would shake his head and point to a more preppy one on the opposite page. Then _I _would shake my head and point to the black or blue one. This was _my _prom, and I was going to wear what I liked, even if it meant I was doomed to wear pink for the rest of my life……… I might have to rethink that.

As Tucker pulled up to the boutique, I already had about sixteen styles I liked in mind. My mother began babbling about dreaming of this day since I was seven. I nodded and flipped through the magazine for the fourth time, just in case I had missed something. A perky saleswoman met us at the door, gushing over my eyes and a scarf that would match them perfectly. I nodded and sat down on a couch where I opened the magazine to the pages I had marked with a puppy ear. The woman looked over the dresses, saying I had style, my body would be perfect in it, and the colour was great for my skin tone, blah blah blah…

While the woman spoke to me, Tucker and my mother skimmed the racks for dresses they liked. I just kind of smirked at Tuck, who stuck his tongue out at me in return. The woman grabbed the dresses from their hands and dragged me into the dressing room. While I was lacing up the dress Tucker had picked out for me, I thought I heard a familiar voice outside. I quickly finished and walked outside, immediately receiving the attention of my mother, Tucker, and Valerie. I nearly died.

Valerie looked me up and down as I stood on a pedestal for my mother and Tucker to see. "You're getting _that?_" I looked at myself in the huge mirror behind me. The dress was a sunny yellow mermaid style, so it hugged my curves and showed a tempting amount of cleavage. I turned around to examine the back… if it was a back. It dropped down past my waist, exposing my pale skin. It looked horrible compared to the bright yellow of the dress.

"No." I answered simply. I didn't care what she thought, but it was a terrible colour on me. Tucker sighed as I stepped down from the pedestal and dived behind the changing curtain. I quickly changed into the pink one my mother had picked out and stepped back outside. Valerie wasn't talking to Tucker anymore. She was looking at dresses on racks, but I could tell that she was trying to steal glances at me every time she held a dress up to inspect. This dress was the princess outfit every little girl dreamed about. It was a pale pink with a lot of beading near the hem that followed like a wave up my sides. If only it was a different colour, it would be okay. Tucker smiled and nodded, but I shook my head. My eye caught something dark, so I stepped down from the pedestal and pulled it off the rack.

When I stepped out of the dressing room with the dress I had chosen, I had a huge smile on my face, but my mother's eyes widened with shock and disgust. The dress was a deep red, almost like the colour of a black magic rose. It was another silk princess dress, but much more sophisticated with an A-line shape. The top dipped down to my naval, leaving little to the imagination. I could almost see Valerie's jaw drop from her place near the front of the store. Tucker shook his head but I bounced up and down a little to prove how excited I was about the dress.

"What's Danny's favorite colour?" He said and held out a blue one. I took it and immediately froze.

"Tucker!" I hissed and tilted my chin towards Valerie, who had seemed to stiffen a bit. He jumped a little and looked at me with fright. I gingerly began to walk towards the changing room, but was stopped by the woman who had talked to me earlier.

"Excuse me, dear, but I thought you might want to look at this." I gasped at it and threw the blue dress back to Tucker, taking the one the woman was holding out to me. Every thought of any other dress was banished as I slipped into it. It fit perfectly and was absolutely gorgeous. I stepped out and the entire room seemed to still. The A-line I was now wearing was a stunning midnight blue. The fabric had sheen so that if I stood in just the right light, hints of lavender jumped from the dress. To accent that lavender, the top was a corset with lavender silk tying the front together and the same design ran down the back until it ended in a bow at the end of the dress.

"It's perfect." I breathed. Tucker grinned like a madman and my mother even offered a soft smile. The woman stepped up to me and decorated my shoulders with a silk lavender wrap. "I don't care what you say. I want it." I said firmly to my mother. She nodded to the woman who held a price gun against a tag on the bag it had been in. I turned to the mirror and smiled, imagining Danny running to embrace me at the prom, leaving Valerie alone and by herself.

"You're going to rule the school, Sam." Tucker said proudly to me.

"You really think so?" I asked him and turned around to look at myself in the large mirror. He was right. My beauty was striking in it if I may say so myself.

"I wouldn't be surprised if you were prom queen." I smiled and turned back around, only to see Valerie giving me a dirty glare. I was taken quite aback by the look on her face. She mouthed something to me before pushing the boutique door open and storming out.

XD

It feels good to know my chappies are long, even when they're just filler chappies. It makes me want to hug every single one of you and give you a cookie. LOL! I've decided to post a story I wrote a long time ago on fanfiction. I don't know if it'll be good or not, but I really hope so! Have a nice day! Come back now, ya hear? lol


	9. Chapter 9

Ello! Sorry it took a while to update. I had to do VBS for my dad's church, and we've been moving, so I've been really busy. I don't own DP, but I will some day! I swear it! LOL I do want to warn you that this chappie may get a little...erm...heated. Remember this is an intense T.

XD

The gym was deathly quiet as I waited for the coach to tell me to start. She was a bit skinny with a long blond ponytail sitting on top of her head. She wore a dark sweat suit that looked like it was swallowing her. Finally, she looked up at me. I took a deep breath and looked over to the bleachers. They were empty except for my friends and the cheerleaders. The cheerleaders were sitting on the first two bleachers, their eyes narrowed in a glare at me. Tucker and Danny were farther up, Valerie clinging onto Danny's arm impatiently.

_Stay away from him, you slut._

Her words kept spinning around my head like an annoying fly as she glowered with such hatred that would make even a bear cower in fear. It sent a chill up my spine as I looked back to the coach. She nodded at me and stuck her pen behind her ear. I closed my eyes and took a moment to breath before starting. I plastered a bright smile on my face and began to clap in a rhythm.

"V! I-C-T! O! R-Y! Slant that V! Dot that I! Roll that C-T-O-R-Y!" I pushed off the ground and swung my legs into a toe-touch. I nearly slapped myself for stumbling when I came down. The cheerleaders snickered at me as I gained my composure and looked at the coach. Her face was emotionless as she wrote a few things down on the paper in front of her. I sighed softly to myself as I rearranged my green and silver school shirt that had been twisted. She looked up and motioned for me to do my tumbling on the soft blue mat. I took a deep breath and quickly moved into a round-off-back handspring. I rebounded happily and turned to see the girls glaring once more. I flashed a smirk towards them as I walked back to my spot in front of her coach.

"M'kay." She motioned three girls over to me. I looked at her blankly. As if reading my thoughts, she said, "Paulina told me you were a great flyer. Kaitlyn broke her ankle so we're short one." She motioned her pen towards a dark-haired girl with crutches on the first bleacher, near a group of uniformed cheerleaders. I looked up towards Tucker fearfully. He looked back at me with a questionable expression. Flying wasn't on the list of required things that Paulina had given me. _Of course._ I glared at the Latino girl on the bleacher as she smiled innocently at me, her friends giggling around her. I softly muttered an insult before nodding to the coach.

There was a girl on each of my sides and one behind me. I put my one of my hands on each of their shoulders, who in return, cupped their hands in front of them for me to step into. I felt my back spot place her hands lightly on my hips. I swallowed hard before looking up at Tucker. His eyes were wide and he sat on the edge of his seat while he spoke to Danny, who looked down at me with a surprised glance. He drew a hand across his neck and shook his head quickly. I nodded and looked back down to my spots. They were looking at me impatiently. I shook with fear, but continued anyway, hoping I had seen enough at pep rallies and games to know what to do.

I put my right foot into the cupped hands of my right spot."Five, six, seven, eight." I called loudly, my voice slightly wavering, causing Danny and Tucker to jump to their feet and knocking Valerie to the floor. I shifted my weight to my right foot and brought my left foot up and into my other spot's hands. They adjusted their hands and lifted me up. I let go of their shoulders and stood up, wavering a bit, my hands clutched by my side. My back spot's hands were now at knees, holding me up.

"High V." The coach called. I nodded and moved my fisted hands above my hands so that they were at a forty-five degree angle.

"Scorpion." she called out now. I knew this well. It was on my list from Paulina. My spots let go of my right foot and cupped my left tighter. I brought my ankle to my waist and grabbed it with my right hand. I bent it around and used both hands to fix it to the back of my head. Without warning, one of my spots let go of me. Everybody seemed to jump up, excepting Valerie. I twisted around the way Danny had taught me so if I ever fell while he was ghost-fighting, I wouldn't kill myself. I shut my eyes and bit my lip, releasing a relieved sigh when I felt the spots' hands catch my body in a net of arms.

Everyone relaxed as my feet touched the ground. I stumbled as their support left me, still shaken up from my fall. The coach clapped excitedly and smiled really big at me. I felt a hand helping me up and looked to see that it was Danny, Tucker on my other side. I smiled faintly at them as the coach ran over to me. "Now _that's_ an emergency cradle!" she said, still smiling. I merely nodded and looked at the spot that had let go.

She looked like one of the girls Paulina hung around. She looked Asian, with her long dark hair pulled into a loose, messy bun. "Sorry. My hand cramped." she said with a shrug. The coach and I glared at her and she shrank away to sit next to her friends.

"You're definitely on the team." The coach said with a smile when I turned back to her. I grinned and looked to Paulina who was standing up with defiance. I turned to Tucker and hugged him. He and Danny showered me with congratulations and praises. Danny spun me around and hugged me as well. As a reflex, our lips connected. We immediately broke apart with a frightened gasp. I slapped my hand over my lips as my eyes widened and the entire gym got quiet. I turned and ran, Tucker following me. I could hear Valerie's angry shrieks at Danny and after me behind me as I pushed the double doors open and ran into the pool of students that had been crowded around the door.

XD

I hugged my tear-stained pillow closer to me. Tucker had just left after about an hour of trying to console me. I sighed, and it came out ragged and quiet. My voice was hoarse and sore and I couldn't breath through my nose. I heard a soft rapping on my window and jumped. I turned around to see who it was and stiffened.

Danny Phantom was flying outside my window, his suit glowing in the moonlight. He smiled weakly at me and held up my stuff from my try-outs earlier. I dragged myself off the bed and opened the window. He flew in and transformed back to his other half as he fell to the floor. "Um, you left this at the gym." He said and held out my bag. I took it from him and threw it in my closet. It fell to the floor with a muffled 'thunk'.

We were quiet for a moment before Danny spoke. "About this afternoon-"

"It was a reflex. Nothing more. I was just used to doing it when... when we went out." I said and shook my head. I turned around to leave, but his hand grabbed my wrist and spun me into his arms. I looked up into his eyes angrily. "Let me go, Danny." I said firmly. He held me tighter.

"I need you, Sam." he said. "I can't stop thinking about you. Whenever Valerie talks to me, I hear your voice. Whenever she holds my hand, I think about how well yours fit with mine." He leaned down closer to me. "When we kiss I... I can't..." After a second of struggling with his words, he pressed his lips to mine. I was shocked, and when I regained my composure, I pushed him away. I looked into his eyes and nearly cried. The familiar blue shone so that it looked like glass. He looked at me as if his world were ending and I was the only thing that could stop it.

"Please, Sam. Just one more time." he swallowed before he continued. "No Valerie. No Tucker. Don't speak. Don't push me away." I only stared at him. After a moment of my silence, I leaned up and kissed him, a tear kissing my cheek. He cupped my face in the palm of his hand, rough from fighting so many ghosts, yet gentle and soft. It hurt because I wanted to do so much more and tell him everything, but I couldn't bring myself to do it, like it wasn't the right time.

I just hoped there would _be_ the right time.

Danny sat down on my bed. I sat on his lap and pressed my lips to his earnestly. He broke away and began to trail kisses down my neck and to my shoulder. More tears fell down my cheeks as I pushed away the shoulder of my shirt so he could continue. As I gasped for a bit for air so I could cry, Danny looked up at me. "Sam." He moved me so he could kneel in front of me. "Do you want me to stop?"

"No!" I choked out, sooner than I probably should have. I unbuttoned the buttons of my shirt and kissed him again. It wasn't as rough and passionate as the one at the fair had been. It was more sensual and needing. A million thoughts spun through my mind: Tucker, Valerie, that I shouldn't be doing this, that I love Danny. Then my heart turned to that thought, and it stuck. Nothing else mattered, and even though I cried, I wanted to kiss him more than anything in the world. I tugged on the hem of his shirt and he pulled it off. My lips moved to his neck as he worked on the button of my jeans.

As soon as he had gotten them undone, his cell phone rang. I tried to stop him, but he reached for it anyways. "Hello?"he said as he pressed it to his ear. He sighed. "Yeah... bye." He hung up and pulled his shirt off the ground, tugging it on. "I've got to go, Sam." he quickly explained as I looked down at my bare feet, examining the chipped paint like it was the most interesting thing I could find. "There's a ghost in downtown." I nodded meekly and listened to him sigh before he walked to the window.

"I'm glad Tucker just called." he said softly as he opened the window and transformed into Danny Phantom. "I wouldn't have been able to control myself." He finished and left silently. I threw myself onto my bed and cried again, because the truth was, I didn't want him to.

XD

Awww. Cry for Sam. She's working so hard for the right moment to come. sigh. Oh well. I hope you guys liked the Danny and Sam stuff! God Bless!

-curiosity


	10. Chapter 10

Me: I'm back

Reviewers: Finally!

Me: sorry. I've been really busy. I had most of this chappie typed up, but I got mad at it because I got writer's block in the last two-hundred words, so I erased it all and went with a new idea.

Reviewers: aww!

Me: Anyways, I don't own Danny Phantom, but-

Reviewers: Shut Up and let us read already!

Me: You peoples are vicious today…

XD

Tucker handed me a skirt over the door and continued searching through the racks as I told him about what happened between Danny and me. I pulled off the jeans I was wearing and slipped into the skirt. "I don't know what's wrong with me, Tuck." I whined and threw the jeans back over the door. "Too big." He sighed and picked them off of the floor. "I mean, he was right there. If I had let him, and you hadn't _interrupted_, he would have had me then and there."

"So why wouldn't you have let him?" He let out a girlish squeal as I threw the skirt back over. "Hey, we need to get you a dress for tonight." Beneath the dressing room door, I watched him walk over to another rack.

"I don't know. Maybe I thought maybe he wants to get together with me just because of my makeover. What's tonight?" I asked and looked at my reflection in the mirror. A pink dress flew over the door. I quickly caught it and threw it back. It was Saturday afternoon, and Tucker and I were shopping at the mall. Well, Tucker was shopping. I basically tried things on.

Tucker sighed exasperatingly. "A girl at school is having a party in celebration of the 'Great Lunchroom Unification'. You have to go." I sighed. "Pick a colour." I heard the clattering of hangers.

"Um, red?" I shrugged.

He made the noise of a buzzer off of a game show. "Wrong answer." Black fabric flew over the door. I squealed with excitement and I heard him laughing. "You need a break from your act. Go crazy."

I smiled and quickly threw it on. I stepped out and Tucker smiled too. It was made of a tight, slinky fabric, and was off the shoulder. "Perfect." I said and spun around a little, careful not to expose my underwear to the entire store. It was extremely short, barely grazing my backside, and the back, I noticed, dipped down like the yellow dress did, but didn't look that bad. Tucker clapped politely as I disappeared behind the dressing room door once again.

Moments later, we were paying for our things. I smiled as we walked out of the store, Tucker blabbing about a cute girl looking at the clearance rack. As we approached the food court, I heard my name shouted angrily behind me. I spun around to see Valerie stomping towards me, her eyes narrowed with fury.

"_You little geek!"_ She shouted at me, the entire mall turning to see what was going on. "What did you say to him? What did you _do_?" She lunged at me, but Tucker quickly stepped in and held her back.

"What the heck are you talking about, Valerie?" I returned, making sure I didn't say anything rude in the mall where small kids were eating. I stepped back slowly, lest she escape from Tucker's grasp and try to attack me.

"Danny broke up with me because of _you._" She hissed, her voice dripping with hatred. "We were perfectly happy until you started trying to act like you were popular." She paused to make another attempt to shake off Tucker. "Then he started staring at you, and ignoring me when you were around, and saying your name when he was talking to me!" Her eyes glittered angrily and her cheeks were flushed from shouting, ignoring everyone staring at us.

"Am I not allowed to dress and act however I want?" I spoke calmly, but was secretly rejoicing inside. She glowered at me. It took all of my self-control not to smirk.

Suddenly, she shook Tucker off and dove at me, pushing me to the ground. A huge gasp went up over the food court and several people jumped up to get a better look. She began pulling at my hair and digging her nails into my cheeks. I pushed my arms between hers and wrapped them around, pushing her elbows out. She squealed and fell on top of me. I used the opportunity to roll on top and pin her shoulders to the floor with my palms.

"Don't blame me if he doesn't like you." I hissed in her ear before sitting up. She glared at me and tried to get up, but the position we were in held her to the tile. "Danny broke up with you. Get over it." My hair was falling in front of my face, and my cheeks stung from her attack. "You can't go after a guy's ex every time he breaks up with you."

We stared into each other's eyes for what seemed like forever before I climbed off of her and held out my hand for assistance. She slapped it away and stood on her own, stumbling a bit at first. "You'll regret ever touching my boyfriend, Manson." She spat and stormed away, fists clenched at her side.

Tucker sighed and stood next to me. "Come on. We've got to get you ready for tonight." He took my elbow and gently escorted me out of the mall, various whispers echoing from the crowd.

XD

I suddenly panicked as we walked up to the party's doorstep. "Tuck, what if Danny's here?" I bent down to fix my knee-high boots before he opened the door, exposing high school hormones at their best. Kids were strewn across furniture, eagerly tasting each other's skin. Loud music was blasting through a set of speakers and the living room had been changed into a packed dance floor.

"Then you turn up the heat and flirt mercilessly." He said bluntly, nudging me inside, causing the heat to flare around my body. I sighed and looked around the room.

"But what if Valerie's here?" I returned. He rolled his eyes and walked towards the nearest girl. I bit my lip and walked over to the punch bowl, ignoring the heated stares of guys all over the room. I picked up a plastic cup and ladled some of the bright red drink into it. It tasted really sweet, almost too sweet, but I drank it anyway.

I spotted Michael in a nearby corner and waved to him. He smiled and nudged one of his buddies, pointing towards me. I set my cup aside and walked over to him. "Dance with me." I shouted over the music and dragged him out onto the makeshift dance floor. He looked back at his friends and grinned before turning around to face me. The large crowd of teens was so dense, I was forced to dance while being pressed against Michael.

Merely moments after dancing, I was beginning to feel light headed. I broke away from the crowd and wobbled over to a couch, making sure not to disturb a pair of teens who were completely engrossed with exploring each other's bodies. I breathed deeply while looking around the room. I quickly noticed Danny talking to some girl from our history class. They were sitting really close and their faces were only inches apart.

I growled angrily and stomped back over to the punchbowl. My cup from before was gone, so I fixed another, placing it to my lips and tasting the sweet taste flowing over my taste buds. A hand clamped over my shoulder, causing me to jump. I looked to my right and saw Tucker. "Sam, don't drink the punch." I took another sip. He rolled his eyes and looked at me intently. "It's spiked." I scanned the room for Danny and saw him still talking to the history girl. I glared and took another swallow of the liquid. At least that explained why it tasted so sweet. Tucker sighed exasperatingly and gave up, walking away. I stared at the pair on the couch for a while, drinking my punch and refilling it when it was empty.

I slammed the empty cup onto the table and walked over to where Danny was, swaying a bit. I grabbed his wrist and tugged gently on it. He looked up at me and smiled. Excusing himself from history girl, he stood up and allowed himself to be dragged to the dance floor. He had obviously drunk some of the punch as well. I pressed my body against his; I didn't need the crowd to help me though.

Yep. Sam Manson had officially lost control.

While we danced, he would occasionally lean down and whisper incoherent things in my ear, tickling my skin with his hot breath. Once during our dance, I spotted Tucker watching us and shaking his head with a goofy grin. I reached for the clip that was holding up my hair and grabbed it, letting my dark hair fall out of it's bondage. I attached the clip to my wrist and continued to dance.

As a new song came on, I looked up at Danny. He was gazing at me with the hunger and longing I had seen in his eyes the night before. I leaned up and placed my lips to his. What surprised me was that he seemed shocked by my action, but he returned my kiss nonetheless. I smiled and wrapped my arms around his neck, letting the punch take control. I really didn't care anymore.

XD

Buwahhaha! This is NOT the end. I still have a lot of Drama ready for the story. Let's just say the story is about to take a huge twist. Review and I'll update!


	11. Chapter 11

Whew! It took all my energy to get this chappie out. I've been really busy with school, and my dad's new job, and moving, and piano, and gymnastics, and a billion other things, and this story's about to take a huge twist, which drains more energy. But for you, my readers, I will always gladly use my energy to its last twitch.

Don't own Danny Phantom. I don't now, and I never will. –sobs—

XD

I pounded my fist on the plain white door while tapping my foot impatiently. I had been stressed, confused, and crying all day. Finally, I had built up the courage to go to Tucker and confess everything. After a few moments of knocking on the door, a woman with a sweet face and a loose ponytail opened it.

"Hello, Mrs. Foley, is Tucker home?" I spilt, trying to conceal my nervousness. She smiled and nodded as she pulled the door open, motioning me in. I quickly thanked her and tore up the stairs, taking them two at a time. As I approached the door I knew to be Tucker's, I heard muffled conversation on the other side. My hand hovering above the doorknob, I pressed my ear to the wood, careful not to make any noise.

"Look, man, you've seriously got to calm down." One male voice, obviously Tucker's, said.

Another voice, Danny's, answered in a harsh whisper, "How am I supposed to calm down, Tucker? Drunk and stupid as I was, I slept with Sam Manson, my ex-girlfriend and best friend!" I pursed my lips shut.

"Best friend?" Tucker scoffed. "Please, Danny, you never talk to her anymore, you don't hang out with her anymore, you don't even ask her to go ghost hunting with us anymore. You come to me to fix all your scratches and bruises now."

"Okay, Drunk and stupid as I was, I slept with Sam Manson, my ex-girlfriend and person who I'm barely acquainted with!"

"Take it easy, Danny. You're not with Valerie anymore, so what's the big deal about it?" Tucker said, probably tying Danny to a chair to get him to calm down.

"Big deal!" he screeched. "You don't call sleeping with someone who hates you a big deal! That's what'd I call it in my book."

I gasped and accidentally stepped forward, causing the door to swing open. Danny, standing in front of Tucker, who was sitting on the bed, turned to look at me.

"Sam?" he and Tucker asked in unison. They looked at each other for a moment before turning back to me, a shocked yet blank expression on their faces.

Suddenly, I turned and ran out of the hall and down the stairs. I could hear Tucker and Danny's shouts of protests and their scrambling to get out of the room, but that just made me fly out the door faster. Mrs. Foley stood in the doorway, calling after me, but I didn't bother to explain; Danny was already running past her, Tucker close on his heels.

I quickly ran out into the street, losing my sandals as I dodged an oncoming car. Hopefully, the boys would have more sense than me and wait for the cars to pass before running after me. It held them back for a moment, but not too long. Eventually, my eyes blurred with tears and I couldn't really see where I was running. I ignored it though, and just kept running, dodging obvious trees and other large items.

_You can run, but you can't hide._

That annoying phrase suddenly appeared in my mind and it drove me crazy. It was true. Even if I could outrun Danny, which was extremely doubtful, he'd find me wherever I stopped. Even it I shut myself in my room; he'd just fly up and phase in. No matter if I was faster or not, he'd still find me and I'd have to face him.

When it seemed like I had been running forever, I found myself in the middle of the city park. My side was aching badly and I couldn't breath. I turned around, and when I didn't see anybody, I slowed down to a jog, clenching my fists tightly by my sides.

Suddenly, Danny ran up behind me and tackled me to the ground, straddling my legs and pinning my shoulders to the grass. I could tell he was out of breath and exhausted too, he couldn't even say anything to me at first, just stare with his hurt blue eyes. Luckily, my head was turned to the side and my hair was covering my face, so he couldn't see my eyes or expression.

"Why do you always run, Sam?" he said finally. "Why do you always run away from everything that you don't want to face?" When I didn't answer at first, he just looked up at the people at the park who were just staring at us, mumbling about how bad our position looked. After a moment, he looked back down at me. "Well, Sam?"

"You think I hate you!" I shouted, keeping my head turned and my eyes averted. I knew if I looked into his eyes, everything would be ruined. "What do you expect me to do? Stay and be ignored by you? Stay and have my heart broken as soon as I get it taped back up? I don't want to do that Danny! I want to be able to get away from you and the way you keep hurting me!" Then I made the mistake of turning my head to emphasize what I was saying. That's when I saw his eyes, angry and scolding.

"What are you _talking_ about, Sam?" Then his eyes softened. "So, you don't hate me?" He sounded like a ten year old, so innocent and honest.

"No, Danny, I don't hate you." I confirmed. "I'm really mad at you, but I could never hate you. That was part of the promise we made before any of this ever happened."

"What promise?" he asked, pushing the hair that was still blocking my vision away.

That was a bad move. I snapped. "Oh my_ god! _You're so _clueless, _Danny Fenton!" While the hand brushing my hair away was still freeing my shoulder, I brought my hand up and slapped him across the cheek. He fell back in shock, and I scrambled out of his hold, attempting to run again, but he quickly gained his composure and grabbed my wrist, pulling me down so I was now on top of _him_. He held my elbows tight, though, so I couldn't get away.

"Why do you have to be so damn confusing!" he shouted, his cheek turning the color of a blooming tulip. It was strange hearing him shout. We'd never been in an argument that had gotten so bad he shouted at me before. He was always so gentle and quiet.

"Why do you have to be so clueless!" I retorted.

He glared and stood up, pulling me with him. "That's it." He began, pulling me behind a slide with him and transforming into Danny Phantom. "I'm taking you home until you want to calm down and tell me the truth about what's really going on." He turned intangible and took me in his arms, taking flight. I crossed my arms over my chest and pouted. I was ticked. I was _really _ticked.

By the time we had reached my window, neither of us had said a word. Danny phased us threw me on the bed, waiting for me to land with a squeal before turning to leave.

"Wait!" I shouted, and he turned around impatiently, that angry, scolding look in his ocean blue eyes again. "On the day we started going out, before we even decided anything, we made a promise to each other that we would always be friends no matter how our relationship turned out." Faint lines of remembrance crossed his eyes as I continued. "I kept that promise, sticking around while you ignored me, just sitting there while you tongued Valerie." I swallowed, bidding tears not to come. I'd cried so much lately, and I didn't want Danny to see my tears anymore than he had. "Do you know how much I hated that? I still do!"

"I- I didn't know, Sam. You acted like you didn't care." He said sincerely, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

I laughed bitterly. "Of course I did, Danny. What, you wanted me to act like a lovesick puppy and whimper every time you guys kissed or held hands?" I stood up and walked up to him. He'd grown taller over the years and I had to look up to meet his eyes. "I can't show my feelings like other people can. I'd feel weak, and if I tried, I'd look stupid because little Sam Manson can't get over her ex-boyfriend."

His eyes lit up. "So… so you still love me?"

I sighed and let my hands fall to my sides uselessly. "I did… but I don't know what I feel anymore."

XD

Okay, now everyone can let out a huge sigh that she's finally kinda/sorta expressed her feelings to Danny. Sorry I haven't updated in so long. I've been in a messy break-up after a year-long relationship and my energy and inspiration has been ZIP! I'll try to be more frequent with my updates now that things are returning to normal.

Love always to my readers, Curiosity


	12. Chapter 12

Hola, guys. I know the updates are still coming slowly, and I'm sorry. I do have to say this story will be coming to an end soon, and honestly, I'm kind of happy. I have a million other ideas for stories I want to use, but I haven't been able to do them for fear I'll shove this aside, so now I can work on my other story.

Don't own Danny Phantom.

Oh! And if the format on this is format on this is funky with line-breaks everywhere, I apologize. My computer was going funky while I was typing this. If it is, I'll try to fix it and re-submit this chapter when I do the next chappie.

XD

I sighed exhaustedly and pushed my salad around with my fork, rolling my eyes as I spotted Paulina flirting mercilessly with Michael Strong a few tables over. He wasn't either rejecting her or accepting her whispers and flirtatious touches. I glared at them, turning my head so I didn't have to look at the scene. Bad move.

For looking away, my eyes landed on Dash Baxter, along with another few select jocks were pointing and laughing at me, probably whispering dirty jokes between them. I glowered, and they just howled with laughter. Dash stood up and sauntered up to me, his hands shoved in his pockets strangely like Danny would.

"Hey, Sam." He drawled, sliding in the seat beside me. I chose to ignore him, but he leaned forward on his elbows. "Can I have a lap dance, Sammy." I spun around, my hand drawn to slap him, but he caught my wrist. "Aww, but you gave Fenton one." He made some vulgar movement with his hips and released my hand, doubled over with laughter as he returned to his friends.

Fresh tears sprung to my raw and red-rimmed eyes as I remembered mine and Danny's rude awakening after that party.

From the moment I was jerked to consciousness, I knew there was something wrong. Before I even opened my eyes, I knew something bad was going to happen. But even _I_ didn't know how bad it was going to be.

The first thing I realized was that there were stifled noises, like laughter. I furrowed my eyebrows and shifted my position. My hand brushed something and I froze. It was something warm. Something soft. Something _breathing_. My eyes snapped open and the room roared with laughter. Tears immediately sprung to my eyes as I looked around the room. I couldn't remember anything from the night before past my kiss with Danny.

Dash, Star, and a few other populars stood in front of the door, doubled over with laughter. My cheeks turned crimson, and I desperately pulled the coves over my body, stirring Danny in the process. I held my breath, praying silently that he'd fall back asleep and I could make a clean escape. Of course I had no such luck.

I saw him wince lazily as the light of morning became apparent to him. He moaned and pressed a palm to his eyes, exhaling loudly. As the spectators' laughs multiplied in volume, Danny came to and shot up immediately, his eyes dully glowing green. "What's going on?" He demanded, yet to acknowledge me next to him.

"What do you think-" I cut myself off and cleared my throat. My voice sounded tight and pained. "What do you think is going on?" I repeated and finished, my voice tinted with a more confident tone.

Instead of turning his anger to me, like I had expected him to do, he shot a glare to the people in the doorway. The sight of his flaming emerald eyes ceased any laughter and pressed their lips shut. "_Get out_." He hissed maliciously. They quickly nodded and scurried out, and as they did, I heard Star mumble a few words, of which a couple were "hot" and "shirtless".

Danny turned to me, his eyes turning sapphire almost sheepishly. "Good morning." He offered, making himself more comfortable against the bed's pillows.

Something in me snapped. "Good morning?" I repeated, my voice laced with viciousness. "Good _morning-_ Danny, what happened?"

He looked at me like a deer caught in headlights. "S- Sam, what're you talking about?"

I scoffed. "What do you mean 'what am I talking about?' Danny we're in a _bed_ together."

His eyes seemed to wither at my anger. "Yeah, I know." He whispered. "Didn't you… want to?" I could almost see his heart breaking in front of me. My mouth stood open for a while as my lilac eyes intently searched over his expression: hurt and confused. "Sam, what…" He pressed his face into his hands and whispered almost mutely, "I don't understand."

Intent not to let him see me cry, I began to pull myself out of the bed, but hesitated. "I…" I swallowed as I felt my voice breaking. "I hope I can clear things up… but not now, Danny, not here." And with that, I threw my beautiful black dress on, (which had been discarded on the floor like a worthless rag) and ran out of the room, barefoot and exposed.

I slowly chewed on a bite of my salad, all flavor already dissolved and leaving the sustenance in my mouth to be a grainy mess. Danny and Tucker suddenly waltzed outside, Tucker had a huge grin on his face and Danny, while it was extremely smaller, did too. As they walked towards me, I noticed that Tucker had a huge stack of papers. As they approached me, he placed one in front of me.

"Vote for Sam." He chirped.

I looked down at the paper. "VOTE FOR SAM MANSON!" was written across the top, a picture of me in the center. "Tucker…" I began. "Is this what I think this is?"

"Yup. You were nominated for prom queen so many times they added your name to the ballot."

"Wow, Tucker, that's awesome!"

Danny, who'd hung out with us more often now that he'd broken up with Valerie, spoke up nervously, "Sam, can I talk to you…alone?" My heart fluttered as I nodded and he dragged me behind a tree farther away.

He opened his mouth to say something, but seemingly thought about it and shut it

gain. A second time, he opened his mouth, hesitated, but this time, he began. "Sam, we didn't… I didn't use any…I'm…" He sighed and closed his eyes, making sharp motions with hands. "Sam… Is there _any chance_ you might be… pregnant?" He spoke the last word as if it hurt him to say it. My eyes widened in alarm; the thought hadn't even entered my mind. I opened my mouth to speak, but no words escaped. He quickly hurried to explain. "You see, I just- I wanted to say that if you are… I'm willing to, you know, take care of everything."

My mind reeled. "I… it's possible." I froze. It was more than possible. It was very probable.

"Sam, promise me you'll tell me as soon as you find something out." He pleaded, placing his hands on my shoulders. "Promise me."

"I promise." I confirmed, nodding slightly. He smiled softly and suddenly hugged me, mumbling repetitive apologies. I furrowed my eyebrows. "Wait, Danny, what are you apologizing for?"

"He looked down at me. "For everything: for breaking our promise, for blowing you off, and for putting you in this position." He replied gently.

I bit my lip nervously before speaking again, "Thank you."

XD

Oh, my gosh! This chapter feels so short! It's a lot shorter than I've been trying to make my chappies, and if I add extra words in there, it'll sound all awkward and bad: I'm so sorry, Nonny!!! I tried! I really did! But if a chapter is complete, cutting it off where it needs to be _is _what a good writer would do, right?


	13. Chapter 13

Gah! You guys, I'm so sorry! There's no excuse for me not updating in so long! Read and (hopefully) enjoy!

XD

Twelve days. My expected period was twelve days late.

I listened to Danny distractedly as he spoke glumly about how his mother insisted on his wearing his father's old tux to the prom this Saturday. I felt for him, I really did, but my mind had been elsewhere for over a week. Tucker began chattering about going in some "retro-punk" tux he'd found last week in a store on main street. I didn't even know we had a main street.

Danny seemed to act like he'd completely forgotten our conversation a while back, smiling and carrying on as if nothing had changed since freshman year. When it was just me and him, though, he'd get all fidgety and we'd be awkward near each other. He'd always look at me with those aquamarine eyes like I was going to explode or something. Oh, how it hurt for him to look at me like that.

"Sam? Hello-o…. Sam?" Tucker snapped me out of my daydreaming state as I smacked the hand he'd been waving in front of my face.

"Stop it!" I said angrily, hitting his arm. He retracted his wounded limb, rubbing the spot where I'd smacked his hand tenderly. I felt a little guilty, but lifted my water bottle to my lips to drink back an apology.

"Ow! Crap, Sam! That hurts!" He pulled his hand to his chest, shaking it gently. I bristled slightly as Danny looked on nervously. I blushed, looking away to see Paulina placing a prom flyer on a table of jocks.

"So, Sam, You got a dress for the prom?" Danny asked, leaning forward on his elbows.

I turned back to him, lowering my water bottle and swallowing. "Yeah."

He didn't know what to say to my one word answer, obviously, so he asked me another question. "What are you both doing after school?"

_You mean, "What are _you_ doing after school? _I scoffed inwardly, twirling my water bottle. "Cheerleading practice. Paulina's got some stupid new routine she wants us to work on." I rolled my eyes.

"I've got an optometrist appointment." Tucker offered as well, motioning towards his glasses.

Danny's face fell. "Oh, well in that case, I might have to go watch you, Sam, at practice."

Alarms went off, but I outwardly ignored them, tightening my grip on my water bottle slightly. "I don't know if they'll let you."

"Who are you going to go to the prom with, Danny?" Tucker said slyly. I shot a vicious look at him. "You know, since you and Valerie are no longer an item." Hints of a smug smile tugged at the corners of his lips. After that party a while back, Michael had found out (via Star) that Danny and I had landed in the predicament that we had. He'd come up to me the next day at school, telling me that he wanted to go with _her_ instead. I was sour for a few days, sulking non-stop.

Danny shrugged. "I dunno." As if on cue, the bell rang signaling the end of lunch hour. I gratefully stood and did away with my tray, shoving the water bottle into the pouch of my green school hoodie. The school colors had changed a few years ago when Principal Ishiyama was fired and one of the vice principals took the spot.

The rest of the day drug on slowly. Tucker, Danny and I moved seamlessly from one class to the next, saying nothing but a few words about the lesson or homework. Several times during physics, I found myself staring towards Danny as he passed a note between him and Tucker. I would just sigh, turning back to the old teacher.

As much as I tried to convince Danny not to come to my practice that afternoon, he insisted he had nothing to do and hadn't seen a practice of mine yet, much less a game. "They'll probably just say it's a closed practice and kick you out." I pleaded while walking to the gym after the last bell had rung.

"Then I'll go ghost and watch you." He replied smoothly. He had it all planned out, it seemed, and was intent on making my afternoon miserable.

I scoffed exasperatedly, searching for a comeback while I adjusted my duffle bag on my shoulder. "But..." I began, but no words followed my pathetic attempt. I entered the gym sulkily as Danny walked over to the bleachers, climbed to the tp, and took a seat on the farthest row. Shuffling into the girls' locker room, I zipped open my bag and pulled out a shirt and a pair of shorts.

Have you ever walked into a room and everything got quiet? Like in a movie where the main character can't hear anything but her heavy breathing and heartbeat? Well, try having that happen with eighteen vicious cheerleaders. They stared at me like a bug as I ducked into a bathroom stall, locking the door behind me.

I tugged off my tennis shoes as I pulled my duffle bag in front of my feet. I made quick and clumsy work of changing out, leaving the stall with my shoes in one hand and my bag in the other. Ignoring the evidently emphasized gossip of Paulina and Star, I locked my duffle bag in my locker and walked out into the gym, where they were rolling out the stunt mats.

A few of the younger and more oblivious girls were already stretching, waving at me as I shuffled over to a spot on the floor, yanking on my shoes with a jerk. "Hey, Sam!" One of the girls, a spunky red-head began. She looked slyly at me and then tilted her head toward Danny, who had pulled his mp3 player out and was shuffling through his songs. "He belong to you?" The brunette next to her giggled, turning back to look at him once more

"Um..." I looked at him, his black hair falling in front of his eyes as he blew it away, annoyed. He finally decided on a song, leaning back and looking down at us. Noticing my staring, he smiled and waved. I bit my lip before answering, "Yeah, he does."

The rest of practice drug on slowly as Paulina yelled at me constantly for not pushing out my chest more during an especially vulgar part of our dance. I'd blush, throwing a look at Danny, who would be poking his own chest out mockingly, and tell Paulina I'd do better next time. Repeat.

After practice, which ended at six, I dragged on behind the other girls to the showers, telling Danny I'd be out in a minute. He nodded and I disappeared into the locker room, already stripping of my sweaty shirt. I yanked my bag out of my locker, shutting it with a bang, and pulled a towel out. I tucked my shirt in after it and stripped of all my other garments, shoving them in the bag as well. I laid the towel over the bag and tugged it inside the shower with me, not trusting it out in the open with the other girls.

Pulling the cheap, plastic shower curtain closed with one hand, I turned on the water with the other. It took a minute, old as the school was, and made a screeching noise before spraying me with cold water. I jumped and pushed my bag to a spot in the back where it was close, but not close enough to get wet. I could hear the other girls' excited gossip over the running water. Paulina and some senior were squealing over their dresses for prom; Star was showering too, singing some pop song at the top of her lungs; and the two younger girls from before, the red-head and brunette, were still gushing over Danny.

The noise in the locker room eventually died down as I waited for everyone to leave before emerging. I almost stepped out before, thinking that everyone was gone, but stopped in my tracks when I heard two sophomores talking quietly. Every few minutes, I'd throw a look to my bag to make sure it was still there. Nobody but me knew that at the bottom, buried under clothes and other junk, was a pregnancy test. I'd gone to get it a few days ago, but was too afraid to use it, scared that a maid would discover it while cleaning.

When I was sure everyone was gone, I turned off the water with a twist of the wrist and picked my towel up off of my bag. I wrapped the towel around my body tightly, fixing it at the top so it would stay up. Pulling aside the curtain, I picked up my bag and stepped out, feeling the cold air instantly wrap around my body.

I dropped my bag at my feet as I stared at the mirror over the sink. I leaned over, placing my hands on the edges and looking in my reflection. She looked so different from the girl I had seen months ago. That girl was happy, with a wonderful boyfriend, a sense of individuality, and strong morals. The girl blinking back at me now was confused, hurt, scared. This girl had no one to cry to, was being forced to be a cheerleader for the cause of the people, and had a pregnancy test hidden at the bottom of her bag.

I shook my head and bent down, unzipping my bag and digging through the piles of junk. My fingers brushed over the small box and I picked it up, pulling it out into the open. I pressed my forehead to the mirror, staring at the box in my hand as I repeatedly ran my fingertips over the slightly raised letters.

I don't know how long I stood there before I felt his arms wrapping around my waist and heard his voice floating over my shoulder. "Go ahead and take it." he said, slipping his hands inside the edges of my towel and pressing his cool hands to my hot back. "I'm right here."

I was silent for a moment before nodding and breaking free, shuffling into the same stall I had used to change out earlier. I pulled the door shut and tugged on the lock, were it latched with a seemingly loud "click"!

XD

"What's happened between us?" Danny asked softly a few minutes later. We were sitting face-to-face, my back against a wall and him in front of me as we waited impatiently for the timer on his watch to go off. "We barely talk unless Tucker's around; you've been locking your window at night... I mean..." His thoughts trailed off as I pulled my knees to my chest.

"I don't know." I had begun locking my window about a week after the party, afraid he'd come in and demand I tell him the truth. Now, though, I was sick of lying. "Why didn't you just phase in?"

He laughed bitterly. "I know when to take a clue. I wasn't about to make you even madder at me by invading your privacy."

"You know how to take a clue?" I shook my head at the ridiculous thought. "Those two words aren't ever in a sentence together unless they're separated by 'just need to get a'."

He was quiet for a moment before saying, "I'm still... still in love with you, Sam." He turned away, almost ashamed. "But you've changed, you know. You used to take your fears head-on, and now you're running away when you hear me venting to Tucker. You used to care less about what people thought, and now you're hiding from a bunch of shallow cheerleaders. But... I still can't shake it." He looked back at me, and my eyes ached with tears. "I took you for granted when I was with Valerie, thinking that if anyone could keep my mind off of you, it'd be her. But that day when that ghost got a hold of you, you were everywhere: etched into my thoughts and burned into my dreams.

The tears were falling now, terribly hot on my cheeks. "Danny, I... You see, I didn't..." Nothing was coming out right. "Breaking up with you," I began, finally able to gather a coherent thought. "Was the biggest regret of my life. Danny, you've-"

The large room was suddenly too quiet as his watch began screaming, making us both jump. I scrambled to the stall as he cursed under his breath, trying to turn off the alarm with clumsy hands.

I emerged a moment later, the test held tightly in my hands. "I can't look." I whispered. "You do it..."

He stepped up to me quietly, taking it and holding it up to where he could see it. "Sam, it says..." he looked up at me, his voice lowering with dread. "_Negative_."

Despite myself, I laughed, throwing my arms around his neck and hugging him. Relief flooded through me like water after a dam breaks. He wrapped his arms around my waist as well. "Go get dressed." he said, squeezing me once before letting me go. "I'm treating you to dinner." Tossing the test in the trash, he walked out, throwing his hands in the air with a victorious shout. I smiled after him, because for once in a long time, I was unbearable happy.

XD

Okay, guys. I know this was a weird chapter. There was a bug in FFN or something, because it didn't post the entire chapter, only a few hundred words. But I wrestled with it and got it up, so here's the completely finished version. Much love, Curiosity.


	14. Chapter 14

Okay, ya'll, one more chapter to wrap everything up.

XD

I growled in frustration as the zipper to my dress slipped from my fingers once again. Throwing my hands in the air in defeat, I plopped into the vanity chair with an angry huff. There was a soft knock at the door, and once I barked a "Come in," Danny stepped in.

The sight immediately made me laugh. "Shut up." He muttered, glaring at me. I couldn't stop, though. I was already doubled over in laughter. He was wearing a three-size too big, navy blue suit, pinstriped with a lighter blue. A large, silk carnation was pinned to his right breast pocket.

"I feel…"-Pause for guffaw-"_So _sorry for you." I managed to walk over to him, leaning on him so I wouldn't fall.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," He began sarcastically. "I just look _so _horrible."

I nodded, my laughter dying, and tugged him out of the room. "Come on. There might be something that fits better in my parents' closet." I chuckled when I heard him mutter something that sounded very similar to "Thank God." We walked downstairs and into my parents' bedroom. I grinned when I saw one of the maids crane her neck to follow us in.

"Okay," I said, dragging him into their walk-in closet and walking to my father's side. "Let's see what we can find…" I rifled through the numerous suits, shaking my head as I passed over one with tacky fur lining. I brushed over a dark violet one looking at Danny and then wrinkling my nose in disgust. "No, not that one." I muttered, turning back to the wall of suits. I flipped through them for a few moments before I jumped in surprise. Danny had obviously found that my zipper hadn't been zipped up yet and taken the liberty himself. His fingers brushed against my exposed skin and lingered a little longer than necessary at the base of my neck, but then retreated without a word.

"Thanks." I murmured, pulling out a midnight blue suit. "What do you think about this one?" I asked, immediately fixing my voice when it wavered a little.

He cocked his head to the side, contemplating this. "Do you think it'll fit?" he asked after a moment.

I craned my neck to look over it. "It might be a little loose around the waist, but that doesn't matter." A blush crept up to my cheeks as soon as the words were out of my mouth. "I meant-" I began, raising my other hand in protest.

"I know." Danny said, taking his turn to laugh at my expense. I stuck my tongue out at him and handed him the suit, muttering that I had to finish getting ready and began to leave. Once I was out, and he had the door just barely cracked, he called after me. "You look really pretty tonight, Sam."

I smiled, but continued walking out and upstairs. I should, seeing as I spent four hours at the salon earlier for her to just paint my nails and then curl my hair into loose locks.

As he changed, I went back upstairs to finish getting ready. My shoes, a pair of strappy heels, were sitting in their box by my bed. I shuffled over to it, sitting down and pulling the left one out. I put it on, following with the next, and stood, walking over to the vanity to grab my clutch. With a quick glance towards the vanity, I walked out, almost bumping into Danny.

"Oh! Sorry, Sam!" He said, saving me from a nasty trip. "Don't want you falling in _those _shoes…" He looked down at them, cringing. "Don't those hurt?"

I shrugged, letting go of his support. "Not really. Now, we've got to go. The limo should be pulling up any minute."

He nodded, allowing himself to be dragged out. I blushed as I passed the bathroom and noticed I had left the cabinet open, revealing a box of tampons. My period, as if on cue, had come earlier this afternoon, while I was at the salon. I pushed Danny ahead. "Go down; I'll be there in a second." While he started down the stairs, I darted over to the bathroom, blushing as I closed the gaping cabinet.

He was barely down the stairs before I caught up to him, and the empty house echoed with a loud ringing. "That should be the driver." I said, grabbing my clutch from off of a nearby table.

A pang of loneliness hit me as Danny escorted me out and introduced himself to the driver, a quiet-spoken man probably in his fifties or sixties. I knew that at that very moment, parents all over the county were squealing as their daughter had her Walk Down the Stairs or their son came out, tie perfectly folded. I knew that sometime that next morning, _my_ parents would remember what tonight was and send me some gift in apology from their vacation house in Paris, or worse- not say anything at all.

"My lady," Danny drawled, opening the door to the limo and throwing a cheesy bow. I snorted, moving my skirt to get in. He smiled, ducking in next to me and closing the door.

It was a very quiet ride to Tucker's, between Danny freaking out at the many appliances of the limo and my impatience and anxious looks out the window. When we finally pulled up to the small home, Tucker was leading some girl with glasses towards us. I later learned her name was Stacy and she was in Tucker's gym class.

They both piled in, their faces flushed and bright with excitement. "You guys ready?" Tucker asked, the grin on his face so wide it hurt my own cheeks to look at.

Danny looked at me. I looked at him. We both looked back to Tucker and shook our heads.

XD

Prom was, in one word, wild. The school had rented a city club for the night, and, though there was plenty of room, everyone wanted to compact in as tight as possible. After dinner, we had arrived late so we got to see the dance at its climax.

"Well," Danny began as we observed from the entrance. "Ready to plunge into the mass?"

I took a deep breath, looking at the hot, stuffy, and crowded dance floor. "As ready as I'll ever be." I took a step towards the center, but Danny grasped my hand and pulled me back.

"Wait." He said, pulling me aside. From what seemed like out of thin air, he pulled out a small wrist corsage, decorated with a few white roses. "You shouldn't go out there looking like you don't have a date. Someone might make a move on innocent, defenseless you."

I laughed, allowing him to slip the corsage onto my wrist and fit it securely. "Innocent defenseless me?"

"I know, I know." He continued, pulling on a cheesy act and making some goofy motion with his hands. "This might be really hard to believe, but…" He pulled me in close and whispered into my ear, like a kindergartener might, "Some of the guys here find you extremely attractive."

"Oh." I said, raising my eyebrows in mock surprise. "And how is it that you have avoided my irresistible charm?"

"Ah, but I haven't." he said, wagging a finger. "I've been drawn in more than most. I just moved stealthily so you wouldn't notice my approach." He motioned to my corsage and my mouth fell open.

"Danny Fenton," I began with sincere shock. "You just successfully seduced me with your goofy male wiles." He took another bow and stood erect, offering his arm. I took it happily, allowing him to lead me to the floor.

If there was one thing to be said about dancing, it was that Danny was as awkward as possible when it came to it. His arms were flung wildly, unsure of where they belonged. His actual dance consisted of some bounce-and-rock technique. It was all I could do to keep from laughing at him.

Every hour or so, the band would stop and take a break, filing off the stage. At one point, the president of the prom committee stood up, wearing a baby blue dress, and walked up to the microphone.

"Would the three Prom Queen finalists please come to the stage?" Danny squeezed my hand as the girl read off of a slip of paper. "Paulina Sanchez, Sam Manson, and Meghan Polke!" There was a roar of applause as I made my way up to the stage, suddenly nervous. I could see Tucker near the front, screaming.

Danny floated to the back of the room, falling into an abandoned chair, and looked up at me as they called the Prom King finalists up as well. The girl tried to shush the crowd, batting her hands down impatiently.

Finally, with everyone quiet, everything hit me at full force. I, Sam Manson, proclaimed Goth and Ultrarecyclo Vegetarian, was standing on a stage, hoping to hear my name called so I could celebrate in the joyous event that was a shallow popularity contest. I was disgusted.

The band drummer had taken his spot at his set. "And your prom king is…" Someone stepped up, handing her an envelope. The drummer had started a drum roll, leading up to a shouted, "Dash Baxter!"

There was a deafening shriek as the jock stepped forward, pumping his fists victoriously. Another girl, a blonde at the edge of the stage, walked up to him, placing a gold, plastic crown on his head.

Plastic. Fake. Just like me.

"Now, the moment you've all been waiting for, ladies…" I heard Tucker let out an encouraging "Whoop!" in the crowd. "And gentlemen… your prom queen," Flash Spotlight. Cue Drum Roll. Pause. "Sam Manson!"

I froze. Trying to fit the pieces together as Dash took my arm, pulling me up even though I squirmed away from his touch; I looked desperately at Danny, who was clapping happily. There was that roar of applause again, overjoyed at the thought of another picture to put on the board outside the office.

A heavy bouquet of roses was thrust into my arms, jostling my corsage. I looked sadly as a few white petals fell to the stage floor. I ducked my head as the same blonde girl placed my crown upon me. It was surprisingly heavy.

The blonde took back my bouquet and I looked out at the crowd as the music started, some cheesy frat-boy song that had been on the top ten months ago. Dash took my hand and pulled me close, wrapping his greedy arms around my waist. A hush went over the crowd as he twirled me around the stage, seemingly the picture of the perfect date.

"Stop spinning me." I hissed as he whirled me again.

"Hey, at least I know how to dance." He shot back in a stage whisper, a fake smile plastered on his face. "You've already stepped on my feet twice."

"'You've.' Oooh- don't trip on that contraction." I tried to pull back from his grasp unnoticeably, but he pulled me back tight against his chest. "Let me go!" I hissed.

A few murmurs rose from the front of the crowd as they picked up that something wasn't right. "Stop whining." He snapped, a little louder, holding me securely. I caught a glimpse of Danny as Dash tried to resume our "dance." He was moving towards the front, elbowing past people gently. I could tell, even in the dark that his eyes were green and that he had picked up on what was going on.

"I said let me go!" I said at a normal tone, pushing him away. A gasp went up from the crowd and the music stopped abruptly. Dash let me go, stepping back angrily.

"You're ruining the prom!" Paulina whined from somewhere, her thick accent annoyingly obvious.

I rolled my eyes as I looked at the committee president, who was staring on dumbfounded. "Can I use that?" I asked her, stepping down the steps to take the microphone from her hand, and stepped back up.

"What are you doing, Manson?" Dash hissed from behind me.

"What's it look like I'm doing, Baxter?" I mocked. I raised the microphone to my mouth. "I am relinquishing my crown." Another gasp rose from the crowd as I reached up with my free hand. "Sorry, Tuck." I muttered.

I raised the crown up in front of me so everybody could see. "This goes against everything I believe in." I began. "The only reason you guys voted for me was because I changed my look, my make-up, and my status for a guy." I tossed the crown to the committee president, who, after fumbling for a moment, caught it. "Tuck, my clutch?"

He looked at me incredulously, but tossed up my small purse. I grabbed it in the air, almost tripping in the heels, and opened it. "This," I pointed at my face. "Isn't who you want as Prom Queen. Because this," I found what I had been digging for and wiped my pink lip-gloss off with the back of my hand. Using one hand, I rolled on my favorite purple lipstick. "Is this." I popped my lips and looked out at the crowd. "And admit it: you don't want a Goth as Queen. You want someone like Paulina- refined and perfect."

Dash took my wrist, hissing in my ear. "Why don't you just get off the stage and dance with Fen-tina?"

I looked down at the foot of the stage where Danny was staring up at me, his sky blue eyes focused on mine. "You know, Dash," I pushed the microphone towards him. "I think I will."

He sputtered behind me, and the crowd looked on, scattered applause bursting into a full-out roar as I stepped up to the edge of the stage. Danny and I both grinned as he reached up, taking a hold of my waist and helping me off the stage. He pulled me into the crowd, but they moved back, the music starting again despite the committee president's pathetic cries.

He pulled me into his arms, and for once, I didn't pull back, letting him lead me as I buried my face into his neck. I could feel his pulse at my temple and I smiled. It felt amazing, knowing there was something I could hold onto, and something, like his repetitive pulse, that would never change, never force me to move along with it. Because maybe this was what I had intended all along, a chance to let go and be able to leave everyone's expectations behind.

I've been a lot of things. A cheater. A liar. And maybe they're true. I've _told_ you a lot of things. My good moments. My bad moments. And maybe they're my confessions. I've _felt_ a lot of things. Hope. Desperation. But maybe, just maybe, I'm not so broken-hearted anymore.

**Fin**

Ah. Completion. I really hope you guys have enjoyed reading this. I don't think the conclusion was that great, but, oh heck, I've enjoyed _writing_ it. Everything you've read goes out to Me the Anon One. Without her pushing me, I could've never been able to reach the point that I am with my writing now. Love ya, Nonny!

-Curiosity


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